Morning was a hive of action, the Aurors demanding the teens pack quickly before herding them into a convoy of Ministry cars. Fortunately Prince William seemed to understand he was to stay silent and out of sight, the kitten curling up inside Evie's jacket and promptly falling asleep, much to the girl's relief. She didn't want to think about what would've happened if their guards had discovered the little ball of fur.
Sad blue eyes watched silently as four teens were escorted like criminals to the train. The Aurors loaded them into the end carriage, locking them into a cabin where they would stay until after the rest of the train had been evacuated. This wasn't how he'd wanted their first view of the world to be. He'd wanted for them to see how welcoming the community could be but instead they were treated with as much fear and loathing as their parents. In fact, if it hadn't been for him forbidding the use of shackles he had a feeling all four would be in irons. He'd have to have a word to his father about this. The boy was distracted by the rest of the students slowly beginning to filter in, all claiming cabins. Amongst them his friends appeared, waving for him to come and join them in their cabin.
The moment they sat down on the slightly musty seats of the train the four teens let out a collective sigh. Their wands had already been taken to the school leaving them with their robes to carry. Evie quickly drew the blinds before letting her kitten have full run of the cabin, herself and Carlos quickly settling in to play with the bouncy hunter. Mal and Jay on the other hand began to sort through their stolen trinkets, offering trades for items they took a fancy to. The ride was eventually broken by the internal door being unlocked, a lunch lady with her trolley standing at the door. Ministry purchased sandwiches were set down, Jay and Carlos eyeing the rest of the trolley hungrily before the older boy handed over a pouch of stolen coins, earning them a collection of sweets to fill their pockets with.
Mal groaned with pleasure as she bit into a cauldron cake. This was so much better than the prison and certainly broke the boredom of watching Evie play with her familiar. No one seemed to care what state the food was in when it reached Azkaban, fights breaking out to see who claimed the least-spoiled morsels. Being Maleficent's daughter had it's perks, the rest of the inmates pulling back so she could claim what she pleased but it still tasted nothing like this. She was just about to select another treat to taste when the door was unlocked once more, a tall blonde boy with bright blue eyes stepping in to greet them.
"Hi, I'm Ben. I uh- I thought you could use something more than sandwiches for the trip." His eyes swept the cabin, noting the chocolate frog attempting to escape out the window, the two boys squabbling over the last licorice wand, a blue-haired girl trying to keep her kitten from pouncing at the escaping frog and the purple-haired girl sipping on pumpkin juice. Clearly they'd already sampled most of the wares on the trolley, his own addition seeming superfluous in comparison.
Green eyes locked with his and the boy suddenly found himself trying to remember if he'd seen her before. She seemed familiar and yet there was no possible way they could have met before this day. "I think we're good here. Bye!" The girl with the purple hair waved at him before turning her attention back to the food, obviously done with any kind of conversation he might had wished to hold with her. With a defeated nod he left the cabin, pausing in his stride to welcome them to Hogwarts before the door was shut and locked behind him.
The train had stopped ages ago and yet the doors remained locked. The sounds of the other students grew fainter and fainter until all that remained was a stifling silence. After what seemed like an eternity their door was opened, a lone carriage waiting to take them to the castle. There was no turning back now, the grounds were spelled with powerful barriers. The only way out, that they knew of, was the train but that certainly wouldn't leave with them still on board. Worn boots slowly scuffed their way over to the coach, climbing in to await what they was sure was their impending doom.
By the time they reached the Great Hall the first years had already been sorted, leaving the Sorting Hat on it's stool before the podium. Walking past the faces staring at them Mal figured they probably should've changed on the train but if they were going to have everyone stare at them, she wanted to be comfortable. Halting before the chair Mal viewed the room with a bored sneer, right up until the blonde boy from the train stepped up to greet them.
Ben had to bite his lip to keep from chuckling as the new students made their way to the front of the hall. They had spunk and a rebellious streak but that just seemed to make them more intriguing to him. Smoothing out his uniform he stepped forward, his girlfriend taking the opportunity to tag along with him. "Hi I'm Ben." He greeted warmly, this time with a little more authority. Audrey's hands clasped his arm, a wide grin on her face as she announced his title 'Prince Benjamin, soon to be King.' The girl gushed, her beaming smile sweeping the hall.
"And I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit." Mal snarked back, her biting tongue slapping the smile off Audrey's face. A cough covered the beginnings of a laugh tickling Ben's throat. Here was a girl who should be curtsying a greeting and yet she didn't seem to care that he could send her straight back to Azkaban, no to Mal he was just another student. It was refreshing and Ben found himself wanting to know more about her.
Stepping forward a woman in pale blue robes drew the attention towards her. "I'm Fairy Godmother, the headmistress. Now we have some rules, and I have a little thing about curfew, but I think we're going have a lot of fun. I understand you haven't had a uh- formal education so some students have volunteered to help tutor you and bring you up to speed, but first, lets sort you into houses." Hips shimmied with bouncy enthusiasm as she strode to the chair, lifting the hat and motioning to the chair. "Now who wants to go first?"
"Yeah, whatever." Mal sighed, taking a seat on the stool. The hat didn't even touch her lilac locks when it screamed out 'SLYTHERIN!'. The hall remained silent, the green table wondering if they should cheer of not for their newest recruit. Fairy Godmother gave an enthusiastic 'yay' before turning her attention to Carlos. The younger boy was to join Ravenclaw with Evie soon joining him while Jay was apparently Gryffindor material.
Once the teens were sorted Fairy Godmother introduced them to the four students who'd be teaching them what they'd missed. A confident girl with short, black hair named Lonnie, a tall and slightly awkward looking boy with glasses who went by Doug, a short, shy girl who was also Fairy Godmother's own daughter Jane…and Ben. Sitting them down at a special table for the night the headmistress beamed at them all. "I'm going to let you all get acquainted."
Taking a seat Mal almost groaned when she noticed the Prince take the seat beside her. To her right Carlos and Jane were shyly attempting small talk, across the table Doug was mesmerized by Evie and to the left was Jay attempting to flirt with Lonnie only to have her reject every pass. Perfect, just perfect, she was going to be stuck with Mr Manners with a silver spoon most likely stuck somewhere the sun didn't shine.
Dinner could not end soon enough, the fairy leaping from her seat the moment people began to leave. Audrey's voice trilled over the din calling Ben over to her with some ridiculously heinous pet-name. Muttering under her breath Mal joined her friends in leaving the hall. "It's terrible." She complained, a slight whine to her voice. "You all get real people, I get stuck with Prince Benny-boo the super-cheerful…."
"…while that's not actually an official title, I'm partial to the suggestion." Ben's voice announced behind them causing Mal to jump slightly, turning to face him with wide eyes. If he was hurt by the comment she made he certainly didn't show it, instead he just gave her a soft smile. "Welcome to Hogwarts. Sleep well and I shall see you in the morning."
May your thoughts and creativity flow
-Lady Ami DragonHeart
